Month: October 2008

KIM KARDASHIAN NOT ENGAGED

PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung)
2008-10-14 18:44:07
Austria

Entertainment

Despite media reports circulating the net, Hollyscoop.com has learned
exclusively that Kim Kardashian is not engaged to be married!

Kim has been the victim of a fake Facebook account. Someone pretending
to be her has been posting messages, photos, and status updates.

Although Kim has expressed her interest in marrying her longtime beau
Reggie Bush in the future, the couple will not be walking down the
isle just yet.

Kimberly Noel Kardashian was born on October 21, 1980 in Los Angeles,
California, USA. She is the daughter of the late Robert Kardashian,
who was best known for being OJ Simpson’s lawyer during his murder
trial. Kim’s mother is of Irish descent and her father of Armenian
descent. In 2007, a pornographic home video she had made with
then-boyfriend, R&B singer Ray J, was leaked. Vivid Entertainment was
the distribution company against which Kardashian had pursued legal
action for the ownership of the tape. Kardashian later dropped the
suit and settled with Vivid Entertainment for US$ 5 million.

WARRING MONKS THREATEN DESTRUCTION OF THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE
Sheera Frankel in Jerusalem

Times Online, UK
October 15, 2008

Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Deir al-Sultan monastery on its
roof is judged to be in an "emergency state" of degeneration

A long-running row over the rights to a rooftop section of the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre could bring the entire structure tumbling down,
destroying Christendom’s holiest site.

While renovations are needed across the church, the small Deir
al-Sultan monastery on its roof has reached an "emergency state",
according to engineers who completed an evaluation this month.

The Times has learnt that in 2004 the two chapels and twenty-six
tiny rooms that comprise the monastery were pronounced in dire need
of reinforcement. They have since deteriorated to the point where
engineers now fear that they will crash through the roof and into
the church, venerated by millions of Christians as the site of the
Crucifixion and burial of Jesus.

Yigal Bergman, the engineer who led the investigation, reported that
the church, situated in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of
Jerusalem, was in a dangerous state of construction. "The structures
are full of serious engineering damage that creates safety hazards
and endangers the lives of the monks and the visitors. This is an
emergency".

Local officials are pressing the church to begin repairs before
the heavy autumn rains begin but have stopped short of interfering
directly in its notoriously acrimonious affairs.

The church has been vigilantly managed by six competing and often
fractious Christian denominations — Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox,
Armenian Orthodox, Coptic, Syrian Orthodox and Ethiopian — since an
agreement reached under Ottoman law in 1757.

Rival denominations often battle for access or space and the
congregation at the annual Easter service sometimes resembles the
terraces of a boisterous football match. The keys to the main entrance
of the church have been held by a Muslim family since the 12th century
because the Christians do not trust one another.

The dispute over the Deir al-Sultan monastery is a more recent
phenomenon dating back to Easter 1970. When the Coptic monks, who
had controlled the area, went to pray in the main church and left the
rooftop unattended, Ethiopian monks seized the opportunity to change
the locks at the entrances before the Copts returned.

Relations between the two groups have remained tense ever since,
with the Coptic Church refusing to relinquish its claim to the
monastery and posting a single monk there at all times. In the midst
of a blistering heatwave in the summer of 2002, the Coptic monk on
duty moved his chair from its agreed spot to a shadier corner. The
move was taken as a hostile manoeuvre by the Ethiopians and 11 monks
needed hospital treatment after the ensuing fracas.

The rest of the church factions have been unable to mediate between
the two groups, even in the case of minor repairs or renovations to
the rooftop. Archbishop Matthias, head of the Ethiopian Church in
Jerusalem, wrote a letter to the Israeli Interior Ministry and the
Bureau of Jerusalem Affairs this month describing the dire state of
the buildings.

The Archbishop stated in the letter that he did not recognise the
right of the Coptic Church in any part of the disputed area. He said,
according to the Haaretz Hebrew daily, that it was "inconceivable
that the implementation of emergency repairs at the holy site would
be conditioned on the consent of the Coptic Church". The Archbishop
added that he was turning to the Israeli authorities, as a neutral
party, to carry out the repairs.

Israel has offered to shoulder part of the cost of repairs but will
do so only if the Christian factions first come to an agreement
among themselves.

The Copts, who are mainly of Egyptian origin, received preferential
treatment during Ottoman, British and Jordanian rule. That changed
after Israel took control of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, fought
against a combined Arab force, including Egypt. The Copts accused
Israel of using its position in Jerusalem to aid the Ethiopians in
1970 in their takeover of Deir al-Sultan.

Nine years later, when Israel and Egypt signed the Camp David peace
accords, Coptic officials hoped that the rooftop monastery would
be restored to them. Israel, however, is mindful of its sensitive
relations with Ethiopia, where hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian
Jews lived and were brought to the Jewish state in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III said: "There is a greater
issue here, something that has to be addressed sooner or later. To
be honest, so far the [Israeli] Government has tried to keep out of
the dispute. But now it seems that the Government is under pressure
to demonstrate concern in helping resolve the issue."

Bible bashiing

— In the 19th century a ladder was placed on a ledge above the main
entrance to the church. A priest from another denomination accused the
man of trespassing and a row began that has yet to be resolved. The
ladder is still there

— In 1995 the church announced it had reached a decision on how
to paint a part of the dome in the central part of the structure —
but only after 17 years’ debate

— In 2004 during Greek Orthodox celebrations of the Exaltation of
the Holy Cross, a door to the Franciscan chapel was left open. This
was taken as a sign of disrespect by the Greek Orthodox faction and
a fight broke out. There were several arrests

— Another fight broke out on Palm Sunday this year when a Greek
monk was ejected from the building by a rival faction. Police were
attacked by the feuding monks and several people were taken to hospital

HISTORY’S MONSTERS
By Simon Sebag Montefiore

BBC News
664000/7664547.stm
Tuesday, 14 October 2008 07:24 UK
UK

Author of Monsters: History’s Most Evil Men and Women

There is a special fascination in diabolical wickedness.

That is why in Paradise Lost, we identify with Satan despite all
Milton’s efforts. Or why we so enjoy the Godfather movies.

Adolf Hitler is the embodiment of a historical monster But when I
decided to write a book about the most evil characters in history,
it was not merely to entertain.

As a historian, I believe that history is the best way to teach
particularly younger generations about the values that our society
needs such as responsibility, tolerance, decency, courage, freedom
itself.

The best way to introduce these ideas is the excitement of character
and biography.

These are characters we should all know, stories we should tell our
children about.

One man’s monster

My choice of monsters is naturally a subjective one. In many cases,
they chose themselves: Hitler or Pol Pot for example.

In other cases, one man’s monster is another man’s hero: Mao killed
70 million but is still the reigning genius of the Peoples Republic
of China today.

Stalin killed 20 million but in the Kremlin’s new textbook, he is
hailed as "the most successful Russian ruler of the 20th Century".

Many cases are interlinked. Hitler was encouraged to slaughter the
Jews because he mused "who now remembers the Armenian massacres?"

Pol Pot’s regime killed one fifth of the Cambodian population Some of
these monsters may be included unjustly: Queen Jezebel of Israel or
the Empress Livia, wife of Augustus, were probably not as murderous
as their reputations suggest.

Some were just plain insane like Caligula or Ivan the Terrible.

Some are obvious – such as Nero, Torqemarda, Robespierre, Idi Amin,
Papa Doc Duvalier or Kim Il-Sung.

Others will be less well-known – such as Nadir Shah of Persia, Enver
Hoxha of Albania, Barbarossa and his brother Silver Arm the Ottoman
pirate-admirals, Justinian Slitnose, or President Lopes of Paraguy.

Lastly some could almost be heroes: Genghis Khan, Tamurlane, Emperor
Basil the Bulgar-Slayer, Nadir Shah, even Peter the Great of Russia,
were brilliant generals and politicians yet monsters too.

In the end, I hoped to remind people of forgotten crimes and monstrous
individuals so we can judge them again and remember their victims –
and hopefully make history exciting again.

While the atrocities perpetrated by Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao
are well known, some tyrants have slipped through history with far
less attention given to their monstrous regimes. Here are five of the
worst – but let us know who you think should be included on the list
using the form below.

VLAD THE IMPALER (1431-76)

Vlad was rumoured to drink his victims blood and eat their flesh The
inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula was in reality a bloodthirsty
ruler of Wallachia (modern-day Romania) in the 15th Century.

Vlad’s name comes from his preferred method of execution – victims
were impaled on wooden stakes arranged in concentric circles around
his castles, leading to a slow and excruciatingly painful death.

Thirty thousand merchants and noblemen met this and other gruesome
fates on St Bartholomew’s Day 1459, and another 10,000 a year later.

He was eventually deposed by the Ottoman army and imprisoned, but
regained the throne 10 years later – only to be deposed again and
beheaded.

MAXIMILIEN ROBESPIERRE (1758-94)

The springs of popular government in revolution are at once virtue
and terror

Robespierre Although considered by some a founding father of modern
democracy, Robespierre – a senior politician during the French
revolution – was responsible for countless deaths during the Reign
of Terror (5 September 1793 – 28 July 1794).

Robespierre was a young lawyer at the start of the revolution, but
quickly rose through the political ranks until finally playing a
prominent role on the Committee of Public Safety, a body which had
the power to order the execution of absolutely anyone without need
for a trial.

Thousands of "enemies of the state" were sent to their deaths on
Robespierre’s orders, many to secure his own political position. In one
horrific chapter of the revolution over 100,000 men, women and children
were slaughtered in Lyon and Marseilles on Robespierre’s orders.

Robespierre’s grip on the revolutionary government eventually waned
and he met the same fate as so many of his victims at the blade of
the guillotine.

LEOPOLD II (1835-1909)

I do not want to miss a good chance of getting us a slice of this
magnificent African cake

Leopold II The King of Belgium from 1865-1909 acquired large tracts
of land along the Congo in central Africa for his own personally-owned
colony.

A group of mercenaries, known as the Force Publique, brutally enforced
law and order on Leopold’s behalf and levied tax through forced labour.

Soldiers were ordered to cut off the right hand of anyone they had
killed – so their superiors could check they were not wasting valuable
ammunition on game shooting. But mercenaries circumvented the ban – and
thousands of innocent Congolese had their hands cut off as a result.

The violent oppression led to the deaths of as many as 10 million
people, half the population of the Congo.

BARON UNGERN VON STERNBERG (1886-1921)

After being captured by the Bolsheviks, Ungern was transported back
to Russia in a cage and shot by firing squad Von Sternberg was a
warlord during the the Russian civil war (1918-1921) who invaded
Mongolia and imposed a ruthless tyranny, under the delusion that he
was the reincarnation of Genghis Khan.

The Bloody Baron’s victims were mainly Communists and Jews,
sadistically tortured and humiliated before meeting their death.

Execution methods included dismemberment, disembowelment, being torn
apart by wild animals and being hunted through the streets by Cossacks.

Between 10 and 20 million people died as a result of the Russian
civil war.

ANTE PAVELIC (1889-1959)

Pavelic’s regime murdered over 80% of the Jewish population in Croatia
Croatian Nationalist Ante Pavelic was the leader of a terrorist group
known as the Ustase that campaigned for an independent and racially
pure Croatia in the 1930s.

When World War II came to the Balkans, Yugoslavia collapsed and in
1941 Pavelic became the leader of a nominally independent Croatia,
in reality a Nazi puppet state.

Pavelic set about realizing his dream of a racially pure Croatia,
and under his four-year fascist regimem an estimated 700,000 Jews,
Gypsies and Serbs were butchered.

MENGISTU HAILE MARIAM (1937-)

Mengistu’s regime failed to react to the devastating famine of 1984-5,
putting it down to ‘enemy propoganda’ Mengistu Haile Mariam was a
member of the Dergue, the group of Ethiopian army officers that in
1974 ousted president Haile Selassie in a bloody coup and took control
of Ethiopia.

The Dergue ruled by violence and paranoia. During the "red terror",
they murdered thousands of intellectuals, professionals and political
opponents in an attempt to create a Soviet-style socialist utopia.

By 1977, Mengistu had seized complete control of the Dergue, ruthlessly
suppressing opposition to his expansionist military plans – in one case
killing political opponents in the Dergue himself with a machine gun.

Mengistu’s regime held power until 1991 by which time bloody wars
with neighbouring countries and a failure to deal with the drought
of 1984-5 had cost the country millions of lives.

Simon Sebag Montefiore is the author of Monsters – History’s Most
Evil Men and Women

NEW CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NA PRESIDENT

National Assembly of RA
14.10.2008
Armenia

NA President Mr Hovik Abrahamyan continues to receive messages from
the presidents of the parliaments of other countries.

Congratulating Mr Hovik Abrahamyan on the occasion of being elected
in the post of the President of the National Assembly, the President
of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg Mr Lucien Weiler expressed
hope that the relations between two parliaments would remain as warm
and friendly as they were in the past. The President of the Chamber
of Deputies is sure that the NA President will carry out the mission
he has undertaken with dignity, skillfully and successfully.

Mr Nicolae VÄ~CcÄ~Croiu, President of the Senate of Romania sent his
sincere congratulations to the NA President, wishing success to him
and to the whole Armenian people peace and welfare.

In her congratulatory message Mrs Ene Ergma, President of Riigikogu
of Estonia expressed confidence that the effective cooperation and
contacts between two countries at bilateral and multilateral levels
would be continued and strengthened during the NA presidency of
Mr Hovik Abrahamyan. He is also sure that the continuation of good
relations between friendly countries will promote to make Europe more
peaceful and more prosperous.

–Boundary_(ID_lwhxZhj8LunLYd0hsDzttQ )–

ON BILL AYERS AND SMALL ‘C’ COMMUNISTS
By James Lewis

American Thinker
October 15, 2008
WA

Bill Ayers said in 1995 that he was just a "small ‘c’ communist." He
said it with a little laugh. And most of us aren’t even shocked. We’ve
heard words like that before. But we should feel shivers running up
our spines.

I know goofy liberals who moan about all the good intentions
demonstrated by Karl Marx, Lenin, and Trotsky. They’re all Obama
voters, for some reason. They are the same kinds of people who think
Jesus was a communist, and that George W. Bush is Hitler. They are
often the kind of people who try desperately to be completely nice in
their lives, especially to designated victims. But often they harbor
a belly full of rage — against conservatives, or big corporations,
or fundamentalist Christians, or anybody who challenges their belief
in their own saintliness.

In basic politics there are only two numbers you need to know. One
is Six Million. You know what that means. The other number is
not nearly as well-known, but it should be. It’s One Hundred
Million. Six Million is forever linked to Hitler’s Final Solution
to the Jewish Problem. Whether it was precisely Six Million, or
whether we should include the Armenian Genocide committed by the
Turks, or whether we should add the tens of millions of other people
killed by Hitler, not to mention all the other genocides in history
… all that comes later. The expression "Six Million" has come to
be a touchstone for human evil, and we fragile humans really need
our touchstones. Otherwise we get confused, and wander off into
perversity. We become suckers to political scam artists.

We need some kind of soundbite to remind us of deliberately chosen
human evil, and Six Million is just about the right size to keep in
mind. Six Million should stand for all the massacres of innocents:
In Rwanda, in centuries of African slave trade, in Nanking, in Turkish
Armenia, in the Partition of India, the list is painfully long.

One Hundred Million is the estimated number of people massacred by
Communists in the 20th Century, according to a definitive study by
French Leftist historian Stéphane Courtois and his team, published
in The Black Book of Communism.

One Hundred Million is the second soundbite every sane person on
earth should know.

Six Million and One Hundred Million — forget all the quibbles,
just listen to the sound of those numbers.

Now when your friendly neighborhood "small ‘c’ communist" comes along,
all smiles, and offering love and peace, we need to say just one thing:
One Hundred Million. If that doesn’t wipe the smile off their faces
they are beyond human reach. By that act of willed ignorance they
have exiled themselves from the company of decent people.

Try it some time: There are an amazing number of nominally sane people
who will try to explain that number One Hundred Million away. Vladimir
Putin is doing it even now in Russia, where many of the murderers
and their victims lived. That reveals what kind of man Putin really is.

In the same way, murderous racists need to be confronted with only
one number: Six Million. It’s not because those murder victims were
Jews killed by Nazis. It is just a gut-grabbing allusion to deliberate,
massive human evil — always performed in the name of some transcendent
ideal, of course.

So we only need to ask about two numbers to find out where people
stand.

If Professor Bill Ayers then comes along and says with his little
laugh,

"I am a radical, Leftist, small ‘c’ communist … [Laughs] Maybe
I’m the last communist who is willing to admit it. … The ethics of
Communism still appeal to me."

Well, right away we know who he is, don’t we?

Or take his lady wife, Bernardine Dohrn, who famously cheered on the
Manson murders in 1969: "Dig it! First they killed those pigs and
then they put a fork in their bellies. Wild!"

She’s sure no Governor Palin of Alaska, is she?

Or take the grinning minister who tells his people that "Jesus was
a Communist." (What about those 100 million, Reverend?)

Then there’s Obama’s Harvard Law backer, black supremacist Don Warden,
aka Khaleed Al Mansoor,

"…whatever you do to [white people], they deserve it, God wants
you to do it and that’s when you cut out the nose, cut out the ears,
take flesh out of their body, don’t worry because God wants you to
do it."

It’s kind of a twist on Sesame Street: Which of these is just like
the others?

They’re all the same, kids.

So if somebody — say, one of our presidential candidates — if he just
doesn’t get that, it really tells us all we need to know, doesn’t it?

I would never give the time of day to anybody who fills his life with
Nazis, Kluxers, or Maoists. Or with bloody-minded professors of any
stripe whatsoever.

And to Professor Bill Ayers: If you were just "a small ‘n’ nazi,"
instead of "a small ‘c’ communist" … you would still be just as
evil as you obviously are. You have convicted yourself out of your
own mouth.

See, simple touchstones are pretty useful.

–Boundary_(ID_m0sVNeVmVnkn6pBG6pYx2g)–

HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

OhmyNews International
2008-10-15 13:42 (KST)
South Korea

[Analysis] Peace will prevail when economic, social and cultural
rights are granted to all

Introduction

The Middle East region is very different in many different ways and
the characteristics of the conflicts, too, are different.

For example:

the Israel and "Occupied Territories" (Palestine) issue

the conflict between Hamas and the Fatah; the Iraq conflict

the conflict in Afghanistan

conflicts within Saudi Arabia

the security concerns, especially the nuclear threat, that
Ahmadinajad’s Iran poses

the Kurdish situation with serious discrimination from Turkey, Syria,
Iran and Iraq with very limited support from any powers

the Lebanon conflict

the rise of Islamic militancy in Egypt and Algeria

the suppression of any opposition in Saudi Arabia and most of Middle
East countries

the spread of fundamentalist Islam — Wahabbi style — and the attempt
to suppress any modern civil secular democratic voices in the Middle
East region

and not to forget the problems in Sudan where civilians are being
massacred in Darfur by the government and the military.

Made up of a population of about 465,263,000 (Est.2008) peoples from
amongst 23 countries, the Middle East today presents a mosaic of
various interests and cultures all mingling together to find their
rightful place under the sun. Most of these countries are dependent on
agriculture, natural resources (gas and oil) and tourism for their
economies, while trade and transportation too contributes to the
overall development process of the region.

As far as religion is concerned, Judaism, Christianity and Islam are
practiced by most of the people residing in these countries. Islam is
the predominant faith in the Middle East (including the Arab world)
while "Christian Arabs" are a small minority.

However, Islam is at the center of all social order and of the moral
and intellectual values of Middle Eastern Muslims. In fact, it is
the official religion in most Arab and Islamic countries. Considering
Arabism and Islam as synonyms embodies discrimination against various
ethnic and religious groups in the Middle East. Not all Arabs are
Muslims, and not all Muslims are Arabs.

The Middle East is also about ethnicities of different shades and
kinds and this has to be understood to grasp the cultures and the
people of this very diverse region. It is perhaps these ethnicities
that have led to the present situation of conflict in the region
which has also in many ways contributed to the deepening hatred
towards each other between people of different communities. There
are a wide variety of ethnic or religious communities. Suffice it to
call attention to the following sects and groups: Alawis, Armenians,
Assyrians or Nestorians, Bahais, Benei Israel, Christian Arabs,
Chaldeans, Circassians, Copts, Druzes, Falashas, Karaites, Kurds,
Mandaeans, Messianic Jews, Maronites, Muslim Brothers, Netorei Karta,
Samaritans, Shiites and Yezidis. There are also other groups like
the Berbers and the Turkomans.

The cause of all the conflicts and social strife in Middle
Eastern countries is often linked to poor education and literacy
levels. According to an estimate (2007) 70 percent of people were
found to be illiterate. Only a meager 2.5 percent use the Internet
in approximately 14 countries.

During their meeting in Cairo on Feb. 12, Arab ministers of information
adopted "Principles for Organizing Satellite Broadcast and Television
Transmission and Reception in the Arab Region."

The document, introduced by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, calls on the
regulatory bodies in Arab League member states to ensure that
satellite channels broadcasting from their jurisdictions do not
"negatively affect social peace, national unity, public order, and
public morals" or "defame leaders, or national and religious symbols
[of other Arab states]."

Only Qatar and Lebanon publicly opposed the document and its proposed
restrictions.

The assortment of cultures and people in the Arab world is exemplified
by the Kurds, who are minorities and are denied their culture and
economic and political rights. They are prohibited to use their own
land, properties and their right to proper education is also often
violated by the suppressive regimes that have ruled the different
countries the land of Kurd Minority.

Kurds have been forcibly evicted to other parts of the country which
has led to unwanted demographic changes. Incidentally these are all
part of an ethnic cleansing policy and cultural genocide. In the
Middle East most Kurdish speaking people have faced marginalization
and discrimination, decades of social injustice and domestic conflicts
and international wars.

The present situation is all about suffering of ordinary people who
are discriminated and denied their economic and social rights. It is
a common belief that for decades change from inside was impossible and
when "change" came from outside and by force, it was about alteration
of the leadership only without any change in social, political and
economic status of the ordinary people.

Most of the changes catered to the needs of the privileged and
the ruling elites. There is potential for another round of ethnic
conflict in Iraq after the sectarian conflict came close to end. This
is because the roots of decades of injustice and conflicts have not
been addressed properly as yet.

The other factors which could contribute to a larger scale violence are
the on-going repression of Kurds minority in Turkey, Iran and Syria,
Iranian military shelling from time to time Iraq (Kurdish) villages
on the border, Turkish Air Force bombarding Iraq-Kurdish territory
and sometimes crossed the border to the North of Iraq for launching
military offensives against the "rebels" for this problem will never
be ended and solved through gun and wars but by recognizing and
protecting all peoples rights, so all can living together peacefully.

This causes the region to be in continuous unrest. From fear of
becoming victims of the attacks villagers escape from their villages
to far off places and live as refugees.

All these factors have led to excessive violations of human rights of
the ordinary people living in this region. Children today wait to see
when their ancestral and family land and the farms would be returned
to them so that they can play freely and also take part in farming,
an activity that most children enjoy.

Therefore to see, respect and treat those who you regard as your
enemy as equal as your self, it is important to learn about different
cultures and their sensitivities. It is also important to respect
others’ culture, harmonize and promote education of peace values and
principles, share wealth and power equally among citizens without
discrimination, work for separation of religion from the State, create
awareness amongst the people of their rights through education and
free media, empower people to participate in decision making.

Conclusion

Most regimes in Middle East are authoritarian, if not dictatorships,
ruling for decades by fear or reward. The elites who rule in Middle
East countries used religious faith with ideology of nationalism
for blinding people and controlling them. The main weakness of
civil society in Middle East has been the lack of networks with the
"civil society networks or groups" from Asia for (coexisting with)
different cultures.

It is another thing and subject to interpretation that some regard the
Middle East as not part of Asia. The support from Western powers for
the ruling elites is clearly and solely to cater to some self-interest
through exploitation of natural resources like oil, etc.

On the contrary, while extending support in the name of fighting
suppressive and authoritative regimes, these same powers turn a blind
eye to human rights abuses and tyrant regimes in the region. Also
from outside, the conflicts in the Middle East all look different,
but the real cause root is related to human rights abuses.

Peace will prevail when economic, social and cultural rights are
granted to all and protected by all.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SADDLEBACK WIND ENSEMBLE PERFORMS AT MCKINNEY THEATER
Bill Bridgeford

Lariat Saddleback College
10/14/08
Irvine Valley

On Fri. evening, the Saddleback College Wind Ensemble performed to
a nearly full house at the McKinney Theater, conducted by Carmen
Dominguez, head of the musical theater studies program. The concert
offered an upbeat selection of compositions that were as varied in
age as the audience and musicians themselves. It was a testament to
the fact that music, and the love of it, truly does transcend all
ages and backgrounds.

The performance was, for the most part, performed with precision and
verve. There were a few rough patches, but they in no significant way
diminished the enthusiasm of the players, the warmth of the conductor
or the enjoyment of the audience.

The program featured works composed as early as the 18th century to
compositions penned as recently as the last decade. For as large of a
time span that this encompasses, the program was remarkably seamless
and was a perfect immersion for both long time listeners and neophytes
of this genre of music.

"Be Glad Then, America," composed by William Schuman (1910-1992), which
incorporates elements of the William Billings composition "Fast Day"
(1746-1800), must have certainly served as an inspiration for the
great Aaron Copeland (1900-1990). "Esprit de Corps" marks both the
pride and the solemninity that is the life of our nations’ veterans.

"Tempered Steel," as the program remarked, "is a celebration of
our triumph over [the] unavoidable hardships and obstacles that we
regularly face." It was a most apropos selection.

Dominquez is certainly a most engaging conductor, and it was enjoyable
and educational to hear and see her animation as she provided the
audience with anecdotal information and light banter between pieces.

Her love of music and the pride which she has in the ensemble members
were palpable. No less evident was the discipline with which she
conducts both herself and the musicians under her tutelage.

Even the audience was gently admonished when they inadvertently
interrupted the second movement of "Armenian Folk Song and Dance"
with an applause.

Quite frankly, it was the least pretentious, most engaging performance
of this type.

The only regret was that this was a short program. More pieces would
have been much enjoyed.

MAD MEN RECAP: SEE "THE BOB DYLAN"

Film.com, WA
Oct 14, 2008

Bob Dylan and Johnny Mathis help tie the themes of identity and
self together

As we head into the final two episodes, Mad Men continues to lay the
groundwork for some serious fireworks. This episode, "The Jet Set," was
tied together by a theme of identifying one’s self, featuring myriad
examples, including Duck going off the wagon, and as a result, upping
his game. The theme culminates in that final scene of Don dropping a
"Dick Whitman" on us when we least expect it, calling this season’s
mystery person (to whom he sent the book from the first episode?). Come
to think of it, even with a flashback in an earlier episode, the
"Dick Whitman" name hasn’t been spoken aloud this season until now.

It hardly seems an accident, then, that we get our first mention of
Bob Dylan as well, given the similarities in reworked identity between
Dick Whitman and Bob Zimmerman. Right before identifying himself as
homosexual to his coworkers ("I don’t think that word means what you
think it means"), Curt spoke of his plans to see "The Bob Dylan"
with Peggy, after having already been witness to a performance at
Carnegie Hall. That performance would’ve been the Pete Seeger-led
Hootenanny at the Hall on September 22, 1962, Dylan’s first appearance
there. What gets mentioned most often about that concert was Dylan’s
playing of the song "A Hard Rain’s a Gonna Fall," the first widely
attended and recorded instance (it was actually performed before at
The Gaslight). The reason I bring up the song is the lyrics concern
nuclear war, which is a growing, festering underlying historical
plot, with the slideshow that Don witnesses at the rocket convention,
and ready to boil over with the coming Cuban Missile Crisis right
around the corner. So while we may not hear the song in the episode
(it wouldn’t be available for public consumption until 1963), it
still feels part of the underlying historical events.

Don’s storyline in California took quite a turn, with Don seeming to go
"down the rabbit hole" by following Joy off to Palm Springs. It was
like a bizarro version of last season’s parallel eleventh episode
("Hobo Code") with these nomads instead being wealthy, and mostly
without code, with Don stepping into a Fellini movie. Anytime we see
Joy, we also hear Martin Denny’s tiki version of the Armenian folk song
"Misirlou," a song that refers to a forbidden relationship (in the
song, one that’s cross-faith and cross-race). Most people nowadays
associate the song with Dick Dale, and his surf guitar version that
was used in Pulp Fiction.

Besides the minor Alice In Wonderland reference, William Faulkner’s
The Sound and the Fury makes an appearance, and Don uses the last
page from Joy’s copy to write an address. Faulkner had rewritten the
ending for that edition of the book, and coupled with the fact that
1962 was the year he died, it feels symbolic that the page was ripped
out. Faulkner’s infamous time in Hollywood seems like a relevant
reference to Don’s fish-out-of-water experience as well.

Finally, the closing credits featured "What’ll I Do?" from singing
legend Johnny Mathis, which is an interesting choice in that Mathis
was like Sal during this time, in that he had to hide his real self as
a closeted homosexual. He finally outed himself in an interview with
US Magazine in 1982, saying, "Homosexuality is a way of life that
I’ve grown accustomed to." If Mathis’ situation is any indication,
it might be some time before Sal can come out of the closet. But even
1982 wasn’t an easy time to come out for a celebrity like Mathis,
as death threats had him swearing off interviews and publicity for
his concerts, and staying mum on the subject for more than 20 years
following that interview. As Mad Men often shows, we’ve come a long
way, and yet still have a ways to go as a society.

Previously: Surviving Your Parents (Episode 2.10) drake lelane curator
of the music/soundtrack blog thus spake drake

RUSSIA DISCARDS ITS "PEACEKEEPING" OPERATION IN ABKHAZIA
By Vladimir Socor

Eurasia Daily Monitor
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
DC

Russian troops withdrawing to Abkhazia after the August 2008 conflict
with Georgia (AP) At the CIS summit in Bishkek on October 9 and 10,
Russia announced the termination of the "CIS collective peacekeeping
operation in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone." Moscow describes
its move as a common decision of the assembled heads of state and
government, in a final attempt to portray the now-defunct operation
as having been approved multi-nationally from its inception to its end
(Interfax, Itar-Tass, October 9, 10).

Despite its CIS cover, the "collective peacekeeping" in Abkhazia
was always purely Russian. After 2002 CIS meetings abandoned even
the pretense of discussing this operation, let alone prolonging
its "mandate." The CIS in any case is not authorized to mandate
peacekeeping operations, and Georgia has in any case quit the CIS
following the Russian invasion of the country’s interior.

Moscow’s move ends a 14-year-old "peacekeeping" pretense that
culminated in Russia’s full-scale military seizure of Abkhazia
from Georgia, rendering any peacekeeping redundant from Moscow’s
viewpoint. Russian "peacekeepers," who acted ostensibly under a "CIS
mandate" and with Georgian consent extracted under duress since 1994,
are now to be replaced by far larger Russian forces, by "agreement"
with the Abkhaz authorities, whom Moscow installed in the first place
and has now given "diplomatic recognition."

Admittedly, Russia never received a "special responsibility for
peacekeeping in the CIS," a role that Moscow sought in vain during the
1990s in international organizations. It did, however, exercise that
role in practice, as the first stage in a long-term empire-restoration
strategy. Whether recognized officially or conceded de facto, a
peacekeeping monopoly is one key ingredient of sphere-of-influence
building.

International organizations and Western governments accepted Russia’s
claim to be a neutral mediator between Georgia and the Abkhaz, even as
Russia acted from the outset as a participant in the conflict against
Georgia on Georgia’s own territory. That international pretense
continued despite Russia’s military operations, economic embargos,
and political warfare against Georgia.

The United Nations Security Council, nevertheless, routinely applauded
the Russian "peacekeeping" in Abkhazia. While never authorizing that
operation, the UNSC paid it compliments each time when prolonging
the mandate of UNOMIG (UN Observer Mission in Georgia) at six-month
intervals. Moscow demanded and received this genuflection regularly
as a condition for not vetoing UNOMIG. The U.S. State Department and
other Western chancelleries went along with this semiannual travesty.

The Russian operation, however, breached the UN’s fundamental rules
of peacekeeping operations. Such operations require consent by the
sovereign state on the territory on which they are deployed. The
consent must involve not only acceptance of the operation as such
but also the parameters of its implementation. Neighboring countries
and countries with a direct interest or stake in the given conflict
may not be troop contributors to the peacekeeping operation. Such
operations are by definition international, not a monopoly of any
one country. Peacekeeping operations abide by the principles of
inviolability of borders and non-interference in internal affairs of
the country in which they are deployed.

In an unprecedented breach of peacekeeping norms, the Russian military
backed the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from Abkhazia in 1994 and
has refused to this day to assist in their safe return. Russian
"peacekeepers" helped arm the Abkhaz forces and maintain arms
stockpiles shared with their Abkhaz proxies.

On the whole, the Euro-Atlantic community never displayed a sense of
urgency on this issue. It approached it in a spirit of benign neglect
when Russia was weak and later in a spirit of dependency on Russian
"help" to resolve various Western dilemmas, even before Russia grew
stronger. The year 2002 came close to a turning point toward Western
hands-on involvement. The U.S.-Russia and NATO-Russia summits, held
near Rome in May of that year, adopted decisions, as expressed in
the respective communiqués for joint U.S.-Russia and NATO-Russia
peacekeeping and conflict-resolution efforts on Abkhazia, South
Ossetia, Transnistria, and Karabakh (with Russia listed in second
place throughout). This Western initiative dissipated within months,
however, as the United States and NATO became distracted by Iraq
and Afghanistan.

The United States and West European governments have
practically conceded a "peacekeeping" monopoly to Moscow in
the "CIS space"–Transnistria, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and
Tajikistan–from 1992 until now. Only the government of Azerbaijan
under then-president Heydar Aliyev had the foresight to turn down the
offer of "third-country" peacekeeping by Russia through the OSCE in
the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

It is a tribute to Russian strategy and Western disorientation that
Moscow began, conducted, and ended this "peacekeeping" operation on its
own terms during all these years, without serious challenge. Georgian
and other appeals to internationalize the peacekeeping format fell
mostly on deaf, indifferent, or distracted ears in the West during
all this time. Down to the Russian invasion in August of this year,
Western governments continually advised Georgia to show patience
and tone down or postpone demands for replacing this purely Russian
operation. Now, however, Russia itself has ended its operation in
its own way and timing and on its own terms, which are worse than
ever from the West’s and Georgia’s perspective.

Moscow now takes the position, as Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei
Lavrov announced, that Russian troops in Abkhazia will "no longer be
peacekeepers. They will from now on be armed forces," to be stationed
there under a basing agreement with the Russian-recognized Abkhaz
authorities (Interfax, Itar-Tass, October 9, 10). Those forces are
slated to include a brigade-size ground force, to be supplemented by
air and naval elements, at reactivated Soviet-era bases.

–Boundary_(ID_G+OAp04WDBIEAhm2xRojAQ)–

FONDS ARMENIEN

Gamkonline
14-10-2008
France

Imprimer l’article

Alors que les Fonds Arméniens du monde entier vont bientôt lancer
leur collecte de dons a travers les phonétons et téléthons
organisÃ&#xA9 ;s dans la diaspora et en Arménie, la direction générale
de cette organisation indique que plusieurs programmes viennent
d’être lancés et dresse un bilan sur ceux en cours, rappelant que
ces dernières années, l’accent a été mis sur le développement
des zones rurales et en particulier au Karabagh.

C’est ainsi que la rénovation du réseau de canalisation a été
lancée a Berdashen, un village de quelque 1300 habitants dans
la région de Martouni, chantier qui devrait être achevé d’ici
juillet 2009.

Des travaux ont également commencé a Spitakashen, avec la
construction d’une nouvelle école, programme lancé après
l’achèvement d’un chantier d’approvisionnement en eau de ce
village. Une autre école est en construction a Chartar dans la
région de Martouni.

D’autre part, l’hopital de Hadrout nouvellement rénové recoit
actuellement le matériel nécessaire a sa réouverture. Il pourra
accueillir 40 patients et fournir un service d’ambulance aux régions
d’Askeran, de Martouni et de Shushi.

"Le développement des communautés rurales est cruciale pour le
développement du pays, et nous faisons de notre mieux pour équiper
tous les villages en infrastructures vitales, a expliqué le Directeur
du Fonds.

Outre tous ces programmes en cours au Karabagh, le Fonds rappelle
qu’il mène toujours des opérations en Arménie : c’est ainsi que
se poursuit la rénovation de l’école de Khashtarak dans la région
de Tavush en partie grace aux fonds récoltés durant le phonéton
organisé en France.

A Nork c’est le toit de l’hopital qui est en cours de rénovation
tandis que le chauffage est en passe d’être installé dans l’école
du village Khachaghpur dans la région de Gegharkunik.

–Boundary_(ID_YK9+2ilhmJNk36uTqcVyo g)–